Most Drivers Don't Realize How Dangerous Night Is

January 4, 1986|By United Press International

NEW YORK — A major reason for the unusually high number of nighttime driving casualties is the erroneous confidence drivers have in their ability to drive safely at night, according to two Pennsylvania psychology professors.

In the January issue of Psychology Today, Drs. Herschel Leibowitz and Alfred Owens write that driving fatalities at night are ''three to four times higher than daytime rates per mile driven'' and the ''usual suspects -- fatigue, drinking, reduced visibility'' -- are certainly involved.

But ''a more insidious problem'' is ''our misperception of the risks involved in nighttime driving . . . Most drivers just do not realize how poor their vision is after dark.''

The problem with night vision, say the professors, is a loss of ''recognition functions, such as acuity, sensitivity to contrast and the ability to perceive objects,'' all of which ''degrade rapidly'' in darkness.

While they recommend such safety measures as different speeds for daytime and nighttime driving, the psychologists believe that ''the most important step may be education . . . when motorists recognize the true hazards of nighttime driving, . . . they may choose to reduce their speed voluntarily.''